Burbank mayor impressed by 'humanity' of incoming city manager

Mark Scott’s career has led him up and down California, and across the country and back, so it’s no surprise he and his wife are always debating about which region they should call home.

The 63-year-old Fresno-native spent two decades building his career in the city of Beverly Hills — while living in Glendale — six years leading Spartanburg, South Carolina before a brief stint managing Culver City and, most recently, three years helping to stabilize his hometown after the crippling effects of the economic recession.

“She says we raised our kids in the [San Fernando] Valley, so the Valley is home,” Scott said in an interview Wednesday. “When we lived in Glendale, our whole world was in Burbank.”

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Come August, back to Burbank it is for the pair, after the veteran municipal executive was tapped this week to take over as the city’s permanent city manager.

“Burbank’s got great neighborhoods and people,” Scott said. “I’m anxious to get to know them.”

City officials on Tuesday wrapped up a six-month search to fill the position, which included months of closed-door meetings and public forums, with 100 applicants vying for the job. An executive search firm hired by the city narrowed the pool down to eight candidates, all of whom were interviewed by the City Council, officials said.

Impressed by Scott’s “humanity”, Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy said he emerged as a top candidate.

“This guy gets it. He loves communicating with the public — he will find the naysayers and he will sit down with them,” Gabel-Luddy said. “He will be active in our community, he will be accessible.”

For Scott, the new job comes with a huge salary boost.

According to his Fresno contract, Scott’s base salary is set at $189,000 a year, not including the city’s $20,500 annual contribution to his deferred compensation plan and his eligibility to receive a $20,000 annual bonus.

Scott’s salary in Burbank is proposed to start at $290,000 — or $24,167 a month — plus a $1,800 monthly relocation allowance for up to 18 months.

The proposed salary is far more than former City Manager Mike Flad’s $18,117 monthly starting salary.

Scott’s proposed contract states that his salary “shall never be less than the annual salary (excluding overtime and any incentive compensation) of the city’s next-highest-paid employee.”